Le Temps: Jean-Claude Biver interested
Watchmaker Jean-Claude Biver is interested in purchasing the French-Swiss newspaper Le Temps. He said Thursday on a program aired by the TV station La Télé that he would contact the current owners and make an offer.
Biver is chairman of the board of the Swiss luxury watch brand Hublot. He does not want to make a fortune in the industry, it is rather a desire of his heart, said the 64-year-old. His involvement is private, he said, and he does this out of love for French-speaking Switzerland. However, he also does not want to lose too much money. The media company Agefi, which publishes the business newspaper of the same name, already expressed interest in buying Le Temps on Wednesday (Werbewoche.ch reported). Speaking on RTS radio in French-speaking Switzerland, Agefi shareholder Antoine Hubert said he had already discussed this possibility with major shareholder Alain Duménil. "Biver would be the ideal solution," Peter Rothenbühler, a member of the management board of Tamedia Publications Romandes and former editor-in-chief of Sonntagsblick and Le Matin, told the Switzerland on Sunday. The entrepreneur is aware of the importance of the newspaper as the western Swiss counterpart to the NZZ. Rothenbühler is convinced that there will be no staff reductions under Biver. He rather expects investments; Biver wants to have the best journalists from French-speaking Switzerland under one roof.
On Tuesday, Ringier and Tamedia had announced that they would look for a buyer for Le Temps by June 2014 (Werbewoche.ch reported). The two publishers each hold 46.2 percent of Le Temps. (SDA/SaS/hae)
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